I was very sorry to hear of the sudden passing of Sir Simon Milton earlier in the week following a short illness. Milton was the Mayor of London’s Deputy Mayor and arrived at a turbulent time for the administration after a number of Boris’ aides had left City Hall for various reasons. Milton brought stability to City Hall when it couldn’t have been more needed. My thoughts are with his friends, family and colleagues. You can read a tribute to Sir Simon Milton here.

I was concerned to hear that women are bearing the brunt of the job losses in Britain’s labour market. The official figures revealed on Wednesday, that unemployment among women continued to rise, even as more men find their way back into work. Perhaps David Willetts will take note of these statistics after he caused a stir a couple of weeks ago when he claimed feminism was to blame for the lack of jobs for working class men. You can read the full story on the unemployment statistics for women here.

I noticed this week that France is looking to overhaul its prostitution laws. A cross-party commission of French MPs have recommended criminalising all clients of sex workers, and anyone who is found to solicit sex from a prostitute would face prison and a fine. France will join just a handful of countries where clients of prostitutes face prison for this act. In 1999 Sweden became the first, followed by Norway and Iceland. I will follow the debate with interest and keep you informed of any developments. In the mean time you can read the full story, so far, here.